St. Paul daily globe., 1887-11-14

our divine LORD, during the years or
His ministry, frequently made use of
parallels in preaching and instructing.
The parable in to-day's gospel is strik-
iingly apt, for we can readily adapt it to
the growth of the church. He likens
the kingdom of heaven to mustard
seed, Surely, He does not refer to
heaven itself. No; it is the heaven
on earth-it is the church which is al
luded to. 1t has its officers and its sub
jects, its constitution and laws. 1t has
its means of existence and obtainment
of ends. And so the kingdom referred
to in the parable is the church on earth.
He compares the church to the smallest
of seeds, so small indeed that not only
one but hundreds of them are required
to fill the smallest space. AS the seed
was small in the beginning, so was the
church. Christ made Himself little
among men. He chose to reduce Him.
self to the lowliest of mankind. He
came to minister to the wants of others,
not to minister to Himself. Yet it was
He who founded the church: To propa-
gate the faith and to spread his relig-
ion, he
SELECTED TWELVE MEN
from the lower walks of life. 1t would
seem impossible that handful of men
such as these could carry on work of
such magnitude. They were to go out
into the furthermost parts of the earth,
tear down the false principles of relig-
ion, and build upon the ruins perfect
temples. Could they do this of them
selves? No! But Christ had given
them the means for carrying on the
work. 1t would seem that they were I'M
fitted for such an undertaking. They
were not taken from the first in the
land; they were unlettered, plain, hum
BILE men. How could they hope to cope
with the learned philosophers of that
day, with men skilled in human knowi-
edge! The same power that gave to
them their commissions to go forth and
preach to all the nations of the earth
also furnished them with such knOwl-
edge that they might be able to meet
the arguments of the day, and likewise
refute them. The church was also
small in numbers. We read in the
Scriptures that shortly after the death
of our Lord, at the descent of the Holy
Ghost, only 120 all told were present.
One hundred and twenty Christians
was indeed small number, yet at the
time referred to, that was the size of
the church. So the church is likened
to mustard seed; but as the mus
tard seed when planted grows
up and is greater than all herbs, and
furnishes a resting place for the fowls
of the air, so the church, after its prin-
cIpleS were planted and had taken firm
root, grew to mighty proportions. After
the apostles had passed away, their fol
lowers took up the work, and soon the
three continents of the time were visited
and converted.
What the church has been since we
know full well. Its branches have
spread throughout all the earth. There
is no place, either North or South,
among the lettered OF unlettered, that it
has not penetrated. Jealous mission
aries have gone to every portion of the
habitable globe and brought home to
the hearts of men the doctrines OF
Christ'S holy church.
And as the insipid leaven when mixed
with flour makes
WHOLESOME MASS,
so the leaven of the church'S law works
a most wonderful change. The most
savage nation gives way gradually and
silently before the quiet work of this
leaven. Mans perversity is removed
by it. 1t changes him from demon to
a son of God. 1t places him on the
height he should occupy, and though
man falls into the depths of depravity
the leaven of religion raises him up
again.
We should take this parable home to
ourselves and draw a fruitful lesson
from it. We should so develop our
selves spiritually as to surpass in height
the growth of the mustard seed. We
should endeavor to become, in relig
ious sense, great and lofty as the cedars
of Lebanon. Then, indeed, the lessons
intended to be given in the gospel of to-
day will not be lost.